The Department of Justice is refusing to reveal the names of two Jeffrey Epstein associates who received large cash payments from the convicted sex offender just before his 2019 arrest.
Court filings show Epstein wired $100,000 to one associate and $250,000 to another in late 2018. Both individuals had been granted protection under his 2008 non-prosecution agreement.
One of the recipients was “named and featured prominently” in the Miami Herald’s reporting on Epstein’s sweetheart deal, prosecutors said.
The second recipient was identified as an employee in Epstein’s indictment who allegedly helped recruit and schedule victims at his homes in Palm Beach and Manhattan.
Prosecutors argued that the timing of the payments showed Epstein was attempting to influence co-conspirators who might testify against him.
NBC News asked U.S. District Judge Richard Berman to release the names, saying Epstein is dead and no further charges are expected, per the Daily Mail.
But U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton denied the request. He said the two associates are “uncharged third parties who have not waived their privacy interests.” NBC has until September 12 to respond.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has not commented on the matter.
The controversy has reignited public interest in Epstein’s network. Questions continue to swirl over who was connected to him, including President Donald Trump.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Friday that Trump was once an “FBI informant” in relation to Epstein’s activities.
“When he first heard the rumor, he kicked him out of Mar-a-Lago. He was an FBI informant to try to take this stuff down,” Johnson said.
Trump has repeatedly called the Epstein scandal a “Democrat hoax.” He told reporters this week, “It’s a terrible, unspeakable evil. But the hoax is Democrats using it to attack me.”
The president was photographed with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in 2000, a fact critics continue to highlight.
On the campaign trail, Trump had promised to release the Epstein files. But the DOJ ruled in July that Epstein killed himself and that there was “no credible evidence” of blackmail or a client list.
That decision angered parts of Trump’s base. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie are now backing legislation to force the DOJ to release the files.
Massie said 214 members have signed onto the measure, four short of the 218 needed to trigger a vote. Both Greene and Massie have pledged to read the names on the House floor.
Trump responded to the uproar last month, writing on Truth Social, “We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening. Don’t waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody nobody cares about.”
